child important charges. one of the wealthiest women in the world and today she pled not guilty in court. warmer temperatures outside today, but don't get used to it. storm team 4 meteorologist, veronica johnson is tracking really cold weather and some drastic changes for the weekend. good afternoon, i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm barbara harrison. this afternoon, one officer appeared in court on child pornography charges. a second was found with a missing teenager. >> now, news 4 learned a same police officer is being questioned in the same case. mark segraves has the latest in a fast moving story. >> reporter: two d.c. police

officers are off the street and another behind bars in allegations officers were having inappropriate contact with underage girls. it was two days ago when a d.c. police officer was charged with taking nude pictures of a 15-year-old girl. multiple sources say another officer is being charged for his actions after the mother called the police. the second officer is not charged with wrong doing but placed on desk duty pending the investigation. he tried to alert officer washington that he was about to be arrested. another officer has been placed on desk duty as his allegations are being investigated. a judge ordered him held until a future court date. he did not enter a plea. coming up at 5:00, see what

happens when we try to talk to the officer whose home was searched. mark segraves, news 4. one of the world's richest women won't have to serve jail time for causing a deadly crash. 74-year-old jacqueline mars is co-owner of the mars candy company. she pled guilty to reckless driving. her porsche suv hit a minivan. news 4 was first to report she said she fell asleep at the wheel. a texas woman -- a judge suspended her license for six months. she could have gotten a year in jail. the victim's relatives asked for mercy. they have forgiven her. julie carey will tell us what she said on news 4 at 5:00. say so long to the nice, warm december weather. >> metologist, veronica johnson

is here with when to expect the cooldown. >> that's right, barbara and pat. as you know, we have been ta talking about that for the last couple days preparing you for what's to come. we have been monitoring the sizable weather system. i think it's going to be one of the worst ice storms to hit the nation. you are looking at it re. the white, the snow from st. louis to north of oklahoma city. the pink is all the ice being laid down now. that's the system that is headed this way. for us, you can see we have rain sweeping in in areas of maryland and western portions of virginia right now. a big temperature drop we are going to see throughout the area as the system makes its way into the area. the temperatures in the 60s today. mid and upper 60s. it's the temperature drop we are going have this weekend where we could have everything from snow to freezing rain and icy roads. in a couple minutes, i'll detail

it for you and see when we could see the worst conditions around here. >> thank you. an american teacher was gunned down this morning while jogging down the street in benghazi, libya. ronnie smith taught at the international school in bengh i benghazi. he was shot running near the american consulate. the u.s. state department offered condolences but referred all questions to libyan authorities. new fare hikes are a step closer to reality. the metro board met to discuss fare hikes for trains, buses and parking lots. adam tuss was at the meeting and has the scoop on how high fares could climb. >> reporter: one thing seems certain. metro fares are certainly going to go up. we don't know how much. metro has to debate that and has to go to public hearings.

we know very serious discussions are in effect about raising the fares. we have two rail riders what is your name? >> jessica. >> reporter: and? >> marcus. >> reporter: what do you feel about the fares? >> they are too high. i pay $3.75. >> reporter: too much. >> yeah, way too much. >> entirely too much. i'm going from one short destination to the next and it's three bucks. i'm trying to save money and i can't because it's increasing and changing. >> it's ridiculous. >> reporter: here is one take from two riders. you understand, there is frustration with how much it costs to ride the system. metro leaders say that money is going to improving the system. we'll hear about that next hour. at the metro station, adam tuss, news 4. right now, d.c. mayor vincent gray is disputing claims the city won't make a formal bid

for the fbi quarters. he sent a letter claiming new requirements shut the city out of consideration. gray says he wants to keep the fbi in the district moving from downtown to poplar point on the river. ahead on news 4 at 5:00, tom sherwood talks to the mayor about the tug of war for this. new information about a bank robbery inside a grocery store in bethesda that we told you about yesterday. police are investigating whether the robly at the pnc bank at wildwood shopping center may be linked to monday's robbery at a pnc in rockville. this is released video of yesterday's robbery. he is 30 to 40 years old, 5'8" to 5' 10" tall and 160 to 180 pounds. he said he had a gun, but didn't produce one. a maryland man is reunited

with someone near and dear to his heart. for 56 years he's owns a john deere tractor he bought when he was 18. last month, someone stole it from his front yard. a viewer saw it and tipped police where they would find it. last night, they did, in a garage in new market. pat collins is talking with the tractor owner. his story is coming up an news 4 at 5:00. we are in the final moments of hanukkah 2013. there's a reception getting under way at the white house. this is the first of two hanukkah receptions the president and first lady will host. the president is expected to speak soon. we'll bring his comments as soon as we get them. this year, fewer holiday wreaths will add dorn the graves at the cemetery. where students get to browse

a salad bar at lunch. after a shocking revelation, what celebrity chef had to say today, day two of the fraud

there may be fewer holiday wreaths at arlington national cemetery. wreaths across america fell short on donations this year. they will place 100,000 wreaths at arlington, 35,000 fewer than they hoped. it's possible the donor who is

typically sponsored a wreath are buying wreaths for cemeteries closer to home. thousands of students at seven d.c. elementary schools will be enjoying the fruits and veggies of a let's move effort. new salad bars were opened. they promote consumption of fruits and veggies. they are trying to increase the number of schools with salad bars across the country. after bad fall, lindsay vaughan makes a milestone. the latest as she looks forward to the olympics in february. how to get an eight-foot tree delivered to your doorstep in just a few minutes. the mercury is about to take a dave. veronica johnson tells us how big.

a big announcement this afternoon regarding a star quarterback and allegations into sexual assault. shomari stone is at the live desk. >> we are talking about the number one florida state seminoles. winston. prosecutors say nounsed he will not face charges. he's accused of rape by a young woman in tallahassee, florida.

it happened almost a year ago. it was forwarded to the florida state attorney three weeks ago. his dna was found on the victim's underwear. the woman's memory lapses about the night in question would make prosecutoring him a problem. this is a case with a lot of controversy. tallahassee police have come under fire from both sides in the way they handled it. more on news 4 at 5:00. a group of religious leaders is taking a stand against the redskins team name. they sent a letter to redskins owner, dan snyder and nfl commissioner roger goodell describing the name as offensive and inappropriate. the letter is signed by 60 faith leaders, most of them from the washington area. in addition, indians are holding a briefing on capitol hill. they are discussing the impact of the mascots, low goes on

youngsters and communities. celebrity chef spent a second day in a loudoun courtroom today. she's testifying against two former assistants accused of spending millions of her and her husband's money. she admitted to using drugs, but denied being a regular user. michelle kaczynski has more. >> reporter: another day of grilling on the stand. her strong voice often trembling. she admitted she used cocaine a handful of times in the past when her first husband one dying of cancer and only once with her current husband, denying there were credit cards and rolled up bills with white powder on her desk, or that she was an every day user. people that do that are a lot thinner than i am.

she admitted to smoking marijuana, the odd joint she said, including at times, with or in front of her teenage children. this was also her chance to publicly and repeatedly rip into sanchi during their marriage meltdown calling him bullying. shamed, isolated, in fear and just unhappy. she had drawers of sxanax. they spent a million dollars on themselves, then lied to her husband saying it feels like i am on trial. the personal assistants are on trial here. they pled not guilty. her ex-husband said he blames her for their spending and for her occasional drug use, she blames him, making this fraud trial seem like a nasty spat

between a couple who are supposed to be on the same side here in this. back to you. >> so far, so good for american superskier lindsey vaughan. she completed the first training run since the fall two weeks ago injured her knee. she placed 22nd out of 60 skiers. she will decide whether she will compete over the weekend. she is the defending olympic gold medallist. she's hoping to compete in sochi in february. >> we have february-like weather coming our way. >> we are looking at what's taking place west of us. this is one big storm system. there are going to be a lot of power outages with it for us. the real, real nasty weather is in the second half of the weekend where we could see icing around here. out there now, of course, we have nice, mild temperatures. no rain falling from the clouds right now, but we will before

long. showers, even for the evening hours. take a look at storm team 4 radar right now. i'm going to pan out and show you what's happening to the west. oh, rain. look at that, frostburg, hagerstown, morgantown sitting to the south and west. this is what's going to be moving in for the morning rush tomorrow. most especially and then we have heavy stuff due to hit us tomorrow, this time. 66 is the temperature. we are overcast and mild. we are going stay mild right through your evening. here is where we could pick up a few light showers, i think 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 p.m. the best chance is after 3:00 a.m. it's with a long front that extends from the north to the south toward texas. look at that. as it advances into the area, the rain picks up a bit. most neighborhoods are going to have showers. more moderate and heavier rains that come in tomorrow afternoon. folks, that comes with falling temperatures. you will need a warm jacket for

tomorrow afternoon and evening. we are cold for saturday. look what happens on sunday. we are cold and have an area of low pressure that runs up along the front where the moisture will be in the form of snow. i'm thinking after 9:00, 10:00 a.m. that's when we could see snowfall. it could accumulate, that snowfall one or two inches. too early to tell where and how much is going to set up in your neighborhood. after that, as temperatures warm, it could get icy, switch over to sleet and freezing rain. tomorrow morning, the warmest time of the day is early. showers between 50 and 60 degrees. then, the mercury starts dropping. it gets cold and nasty. here we are at noon. 48 degrees by 2:00 p.m. you are going to need the nice, big umbrella if you are going out tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow evening. let's take a look at your storm team seven day forecast here. it's sunday where we have the icy conditions. the high temperature 34 degrees.

it will be a while before the 60s come back. we are cold and nasty. we are talking snow and ice and travel that's going to be difficult not just here but if you plan on heading south toward central areas of western virginia or up to the north and pennsylvania. again, a sizable system as the cold air moves in. i'm thinking not only is travel going to be difficult on sunday, but could be early monday morning. when i return in a couple minutes, i'll show you hour-by-hour what to expect as this system moves in. >> thank you. it does not appear weather was a factor in a school bus crash that left one child dead in idaho. it happened this morning about 30 minutes from boise. a dump truck collided with a bus which had 12 elementary students on board. an 11-year-old boy was killed and four other children taken to the hospital. their conditions have not been released.

no word on what caused the crash. >> opened my eyes and removed the dust from my face. >> a passenger on board the metro north train that ran off the tracks speaks out. her description of what it was like being tossed around the train card. >> the dairy cliff. what could cause the price

president obama back at the white house right now after a brand-new interview at a local university. >> chris matthews, host of "hardball" is here to talk about his exclusive interview. >> you played hardball with the president down from our station. we imagine you talked about health care. >> i did. i got the question people are really asking. the poll numbers are down everywhere. it's a sense the government isn't being tightly controlled. people aren't getting follow through. getting it executed was a problem. i asked what the management system is. i asked him about, you know, this dysfunction in washington, it's the number one concern right now.

politicians can't do their job and compromise. we are under strict -- in terms of his words. he was wonderful, when i heard the speech, it seemed parallel to what pope francis is saying with economic justice, especially the poor people. he was really, i'm sure he never said this before. he started talking about what it meant to him and what he's in politics for and why. later on, he gave a portrait of politics that didn't sound appetizing. he thought, he said it's a difficult job constantly being attacked. >> we notice his hair got a lot grayer. >> because he has short hair, very short and it is -- >> it is gray. >> we showed some pictures of him back when he spoke, had the dramatic speech at the democratic convention in 2004.

i said you have just heard from the first african-american president, right then i said it. it wasn't a big bet, but a good bet. i also saw him in 2008. he looked so much younger. >> yeah, we definitely have watched him age. did you use a lot of questions that your twitter followers sent in? >> we used a bunch of them. they were along the lines of drones. we couldn't get to the drone questions. we got to voter suppression and where african-americans were denied voting in a lot of states. he was very good. he said how can you believe in american exceptionalism. >> you can't tell us exactly what he said. >> you know what howard fineman sate after it? he said it's the first time he heard a president talk about what it's like to be president while he's president. never heard that before.

>> chris matthews. >> that's 7:00 tonight. >> full hour. >> on msnbc, "hardball." >> thanks, guys. from washington to new york to tampa, fast food workers are off the job today. the latest on the strike and how it's impacting restaurants in this area. residents near the newly opened tanger outlets, issue a compla

good afternoon, everyone. i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm pat lawson muse. right now at 4:30, veteran d.c. police officer mark washington

is still in custody after not entering a plea in court this afternoon. he was arrested earlier this week on child important charges. two other officers in the seventh district are also off the street as police look into their conduct. one had his home searched after a missing teen turned up inside. mark segraves will have a live report on all three officers at 5:00. the heiress to the mars candy throne will not serve jail time. she pleaded guilty today to an accident in loudoun county in october. the family of a texas woman who was killed had forgiven mars and asked the judge not to jail her. the metro board is moving forward to up fares. public hearings will take place to determine how much prices will increase. the day after president obama called for a higher minimum wage, fast food workers

are on strike or holding protests across the country today. one of the strikes happened at the smithsonian's air and space museum. steve handelsman is live on capitol hill with details of that. hi, steve. >> reporter: hi, barbara, good evening. coast-to-coast, they were not strikes or walk outs, but rallies and protests. but they did go coast-to-coast. fast food workers and their supporters demanded higher pay in washington, d.c. and in brooklyn. at dunkin' donuts in pittsburgh, at denver this morning. >> trying to make a livable wage. >> reporter: at mcdonald's in chicago. >> this christmas i haven't put up a christmas tree because i don't have money for it yet. >> reporter: a hike to move minimum wage from $7.25 an hour.

>> i think you would see less workers in each of the restaurants. prices would have to go up and less jobs would be created. >> at the mcdonald's at the air and space museum, they make $8.25. this worker said she works at a mcdonald's nearby and supports two kids. everybody wants to be paid more. are you worth more? >> i am definitely worth more than minimum wage in d.c. i should never have to settle for $8.25 an hour. i settle because i need a job for my kids. >> reporter: mcdonald's charged outside groups are holding the rallies saying mcdonald's provides come pettive wages. >> president obama wants a higher wage. today, he's refusing to order that in restaurants located in

federal facilities like that mcdonalds. he says congress ought to vote across the board hike in the minimum wage. i'm steve handelsman, news 4. the fast food protests have a lot of people talking. we want to know what you think. do you support the fast food employees striking for higher wages? call or text your response to 202-601-3444. text one for yes, i agree with the protests or text two if you don't agree with the protests. we'll share your responses on news 4 at 5:00. turning to the weather, we have cold stuff headed our way worth talking about, right? >> definitely worth talking about. as far as this evening goes, hey, a lot of folks going around with short sleeves on today. you'll be able to do it for the evening. the temperatures are in the 60s. we drop to 60 by 11:00 p.m. nice and warm with the possibility of showers around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. i can show you where the showers

are setting up. more advancing into areas like northern west virginia, but of course, it's all of this, this major storm setting up with not only snow south of st. louis, but where there will be a lot of ice from the storm, including ice right here. so, if you need a reason to download the storm team 4 weather app, i'll give you three. the big rain is moving in for tomorrow and then the ice storm that hits on sunday. i'll have a lot more on that and the time line that takes you into the neighborhood in a few minutes. >> thanks, veronica. tomorrow, the consultants hired to review casino proposals will make their recommendations. they are considering three options, one by mgm with a resort at national harbor, another by greenwood racing a parx casino and the other by penn national puts a gaming

facility at rose cold front raceway. prince george's county police are getting complaints about the way they are handling the heavy traffic flow around the tanger outlets. they expected more traffic when the stores opened, but they claim during peak periods, the southbound lanes are closed and force traffic through the mall. residents are getting caught up in the traffic flow and adds 30 minutes to their commute. your morning bowl of cereal could cost more. next month it could jump to $7 or $8 a gallon if congress doesn't pass a farm bill. the subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year. economists say demand for milk and dairy in the u.s. would fall by 9% if that happens. before you panic, many analysts in the dairy industry think

congress will pass a short term extension until democrats and republicans agree to a long term solution. three identical triplets born to one couple. we hear from the parents of the very rare newborns. an update on the nearly 50 whales stranded off the coast of florida. the

forget traveling to a farm to pick your perfect christmas tree. on demand taxi service uber is offering a service today. they are partnering with home depot for christmas tree deliveries. you have to use the uber app and request the uber tree option. within a few minutes, a seven to eight foot tall frazier fir will be delivered to your door. it costs 135 bucks and supplies are very limited. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas at the vatican. a 32 foot tall tree from germ any was installed. they paused to watch the giant crane set the tree in place. the tradition was started by john paul ii. each year, christmas trees are donated by different countries. tonight, a california couple

is holding newborn triplets and talking about a birth so rare it is hard to calculate how often it happened. they welcomed identical triplets late lost month, three girls. they are from a single fertilized egg that split three ways and conceived without fertility. the mother doesn't care about the statistical odds of her gift. >> i think it's more amazings to us to hold the babies. the number never really meant a lot. >> the triplets father joked he might bottle the water from their hometown and offer that as a fertility treatment. a program from a classic movie musical is getting a reprise here on nbc. tonight, we'll air the live telecast of "sound of music." it's based on the broadway production.

winner, carrie underwood is playing maria. they spent the last six weeks rehearsing the play. >> it's enough to feel like we have -- it's part of you. >> everybody knows these songs whether they have seen the movie 100 times or never seen it, you know the songs. i feel like everybody leaves here with something rolling around in their head. >> the actors say performing live on television will bring a new energy to the production. you can watch it tonight here on nbc 4 at 8:00. >> a tribute to actor paul walker goes viral. who is behind the video commemorating the fast and furious star killed in a car crash over the weekend? good news for the two dozen whales stranded off the coast. the latest in the effort to herd them out of shallow waters. veronica, what is the

weather like now? >> right now, fine. the temperature is going to go downhill. the winter-like weekend we have coming up as we look at icy travel this weekend. starting when, ending when and

a tribute video for actor paul walker has got more than a million views on youtube. it was released by universal

studios. it's a compilelation from the clips of "fast and furious" franchise. he died in a firy crash in california. a friend of walker's was behind the wheel and also killed. walker died from a combination of injuries resulting from the impact of the crash and explosion. universal pictures put filming on fast and furious 7 on holf t appear to be moving into deeper water. the coast guard and marine life experts are trying to herd the whales past sandbars and safer territory. it started on tuesday when 50 of the whales moved into shallow water off everglades national park. several beached themselves, others died. they move in extremely tight knit groups and do not like to

leave ailing members of a pod behind. there's concern art the prognosis for the entire group. a bitter winter blast is bearing down on more than half the country right now. the arctic air mass is bringing heavy snow and frigid temperatures. the midsection is bracing for an ice storm. lee ann greg as details. >> reporter: slippery conditions in the midwest are about to get worse. an arctic blast moving across the nation that dumped heavy snow and brought dangerously cold temperatures is expected to cause a crippling ice storm. the path is from dallas to little rock on to memphis and the ohio valley and as far north as cleveland. >> potential, significant ice event. >> reporter: crews in a dozen states are gearing up for the storm. the arkansas highway and transportation department says more than 1,000 employees are

ready. >> we are spreading a chemical. it's a mixture of sand and salt. rain is expected to turn to ice overnight. >> we obviously will deal with the primary routes first. once we have those in decent conditions they will move on. >> utility companies warn it has the potential to cause widespread outages. grocery stores have been packed with customers. >> we are making sure we have enough until next monday, at least, of the bear necessities. >> reporter: ice and snow won't be melting soon. in denver, today, the temperatures dropped to minus 15. we have some sad news out of south africa at this time. >> let's go to a special report about nelson mandela. >> ten minutes to 9:00, three hours ago, a great deal of activity over the past few hours. family members reported here.

some reports of a priest arri arriving earlier today. yet, there was so much confusion. two of his daughters are in london tonight at a film premier. the premier, the royal premier of the movie about the life of nelson mandela's long walk to freedom. in the last few minutes, the president of south africa went on television and addressed the nation. it's incredibly late. most people will hear this news when they wake up in the morning. he broke the news and broke the hearts of millions and millions of south africans here. he's the father of the nation. he's the man who made modern south africa and gave 27 years of his life in prison. much of it spent on robin island. he is the icon, he is the man who symbolizes the transition from repression, racial

segregation to democracy here. he is more than a father to this nation. he really em bodies the entire spirit of it. so many people here will be reflecting on that life and today reflecting on their own lives, how far they have come from the years of oppression to modern south africa, democracy, the years when black and white people walked on separate sides of the road, eat at separate tables in the restaurant. many people will reflect on that. a great deal of sadness here, the father of democracy. perhaps the most revered, respected man in the world, dead at 95 years old. >> from south africa where president zuma broke the news. andrea mitchell among the team reacting to this news. andrea, as charlene says, he prepared everyone for this. there's still the shock of the news.

>> there's the shock and the emotion. just remembering when i was in this news room that day when on february 11th, 1990, he came out of prison his second of three wives as his side. the glorious day of freedom after 27 years in prison. much of it in solitary, in robin island. the stone he had to chop every day, having ruined his eyes, semiblinded with conjunct vits. for american presidents, he's been such a symbol. i recover the reagan years when it was a huge cause and big issue. former secretary of state, george schultz and richard lugar supporting the movement, which is not where the president

started out. we have seen that evolution. for him to finally meet an eafl president and have that moment when president obama was in africa in june. nelson mandela was too ill to receive him as a visitor. the inspiration, the sight of the obama girls in that prison cell in robin island with their father, the lesson, the moral authority he has been. the nobel prize he one. that was one of the most important moments. he signed the law when he became president that made discrimination against the white minority illegal in south africa. that is the moral leadership for which he won, co-won the prize with his former presser. that is the lesson for the withhold world. >> you are so right. he is the man. a string of american presidents they had in common. back to charlene. i know you have friends and

family long associations there. i'm hoping that you can report to us that he was at peace at the end. >> yes, i think that he's been at peace for some time. he's been on a breathing tube and members of the family have said for the longest time that he seemed alert. although in the last few days, that has changed just a bit because the family became more somber as they talked about his health. i understand that michelle, who has a program to uplift women economically was supposed to make a big speech out of the country but in the last couple days, she decided not to leave his side. she was by his side the entire time that he was in the hospital from early june to practically almost august, i can't remember exactly when he went home. but also, what is interesting is that this is the time when you

hear about how it takes a village, well, the village that is nelson mandela's immediate family, including his second wife, his first wife passed on. his children are there as mandela's grandchildren were there by his side. winnie mandela has been brought back into the family after not very pleasant divorce but all these months, weeks that he's been ill, winnie has been there by his side along with her two children, along with michelle's children and today, i'm hearing that they are all just devastated, even though they were prepared, there are a lot of tears in the household. expectation for the rest of the family to get there. they are the children of the first wife who said just this past week he was on his death bed but still being very strong.

his grandson, who has had some trouble of his own, but he was supposed to appear in court today, but that got postponed so he could be at his grandfather's side. as many of the family as could be there are there and my understanding is that the daughter who is ambassador to argentina is on the way and was there earlier this summer when he was very ill and first in the hospital. the second daughter of winnie and the one who, when mandela was in prison, she is the one who read his letter to a crowd of thousands to keep on keeping on, to keep up the good fight. i think she was in her late teens or early 20s at the time. she has been at his side as have been the rest of the children and grandchildren throughout this summer and, as i said

earlier, she was in london for the london premier of "long walk to freedom" and she is flying back immediately to be by his side. >> charlene, i don't know, i do know we have days to talk about this, weeks and months. i don't know if it's condensable to a 60 second reaction, but what are your initial thoughts about what this means for the near future of this country so many of us have come to love? >> well, i think for south africa, it will be a reminder of what nelson mandela stood for, a rainbow nation, people who would get along with each other and people who would be statesman like in the leadership of the country. it's the message he would want president zuma, as well as the leadership of the government. you know, they are facing a lot of challenges these days and i think that maybe his death will help them understand what he stood for and what he was hoping

to achieve in this new nation and maybe bring some of the problems that this young democracy is having to some degree of solving. >> charlene, among our team watching and reacting to this news. the news announced by the current president of south africa, very late at night, we learned minutes before he went on television on the sabc, south african broadcasting corporation, carried across the nation. hennounced that nelson mandela had departed. that's the quote from his words, the founding father of the modern nation of south africa having lost his fight with various illnesses that have plagued him. nelson mandela dead at 95 years old. there will be quite the remembrance over the next several days. a lot of the remembrance, of course, planned well in advance concerning the timing and

arrival of world leaders, the period of mourning. suffice to say this man who paid so dearly for his freedom, 27 years in prison, will be mourned around the planet. obviously, tonight's nbc "nightly news" will carry a remembrance of nelson mandela, a look at his life and times. for our team and for now, i'm brian williams, nbc news, new york. reaion you have it from the is just starting to pour in. our nation lost their greatest son, that from the south african president right now. 95-year-old nelson mandela died this afternoon. >> news that is sure to sadden the world as reaction comes in. he's been ill for some time, suffering from a number of hospitalizations. the announcement made today.

mandela passed away with friends and family by his side in johannesburg and you have a live picture of people who gathered there. crowds gathering, just getting word and allowing the news expected. news that's still saddening to the world. nelson mandela dead at the age of 95. >> being called the father of democracy in modern south africa. for months, we have been on watch. his family has been on watch and correspondents have been in johannesburg waiting for this to happen. the word or the hope was that he would have died peacefully. we don't know the details of his death but the family is coming around and gathering. news 4 at 5:00, begins right now with more coverage of the death

of nelson mandela. nelson mandela, dead at the age of 95. >> doreen gentzler is covering this story for us. doreen? >> jim and pat, we are learning this news in the last 15 minutes or so. this story is still developing, the reaction to it and everything. of course, there is quite a few people in washington, long time friends and supporters of nelson mandela's. as we told you, the current south african president announced mandela died at the age of 95. we have a look at the life and legacy of the leader. >> reporter: nelson mandela was the face of reconciliation and a new beginning for south africa. brian is the human rights atrn